A Room Full of Butterflies

Imagine. Butterflies everywhere!


At the American Museum of Natural History in New York City they had special exhibit about butterflies. And a room full of...you guessed it...butterflies.

We were able to walk into the butterfly conservatory that allowed us to stand inside a special glass room while butterflies flew freely all around us. It was awesome! Something I always wanted to do.


They made us enter through one set of doors, wait until the first door closed, and then opened the door to the conservatory. I supposed they didn't want the butterflies to escape. Then we walked around and snapped pictures, and let the butterflies flap around. None landed on me, but several landed on people's heads, shoulders, hands, etc. around me. Walking amidst these winged creature was surreal.


I think I could've stayed in the butterfly conservatory forever. If we hadn't been in New York City, with so many other great sights, I think I just might've.

Don't Honk

Only in New York.


$350 fine? Really? That seems a bit steep.

I'm certain I heard honking too. Maybe the fine ought to be more. Would a $500 fine deter honking? Or better yet, a prison sentence? An electric shock? A neighborhood watchman with a 9-iron? A bed of nails that pops out of street when a certain sound threshold is violated?

Would anything deter honking in New York City?

New York, New York

This weekend I took a completely random last-minute trip to New York City. Yay for spontaneity.


NYC is arguably the best city in the world. It is living color. Words in action. All glitz and glam.


Apparently it is more affordable to take a bus from DC than it is to take one from central PA. What's with that? DC is 2 hours further away yet costs less than half the price from Harrisburg or Kutztown? Strange.


Even though I ♥ NYC, I still ♥ DC. They are both lovely, just in completely different ways. Points to NYC for the arts and culture. Artists and adventurers flock to the city to make their mark upon the world. Points to DC for the metro and cleanliness. The subway systems don't even compare. New York's subway is to DC's metro as a garbage heap is to a grassy hill.

The thing about living on the East Coast is that we can visit nearby cities so easily. I love it. NYC itself will always hold a special place in my heart though. There is nothing quite like the Big Apple (even if they do have sketchy sketchy subway system).

Those New Yorkers

I think I heard about this website, Overheard in New York, on an episode of Six Degrees that was on ABC last year, but that was canceled mid-season. I actually liked it too--or at least the idea that everybody is interconnected by at least 6 completely random links.
But anyway, the website is an interesting idea. People living in New York City send in snippets of conversations that they have overheard from strangers during their day. I think the only conclusion is that there are many New Yorkers who are mean, weird, don't believe in privacy, and lack intelligence. See for yourself my random sampling (of ones that have PG content).

Coworker #1: Is it just me, or are the rats in New York getting smaller? Seriously!

Coworker #2: Maybe you're just getting bigger.

Tourist man: Pardon me, officer, can you tell us where Orchard Street is?

Cop: See that naked Chinese guy?

Tourist man: Ummm...Yeah.

Cop: Walk down to him and make a left.

Tourist man: Um, thanks.

Cop: No problem.

Drunk girl: Kool-Aid is my most favorite drink in the whole world. When she moved in, it was like great, because it was like, "You love Kool-Aid, too? Awesome, we're going to get along great." But then it ended up, she tried to kill me with a steak knife.

Man: How much for two double-A batteries?

Bodega worker: The good ones or the one-dollar ones?

Man: The dollar ones.

Bodega worker: One dollar.

Man: I'll take two.

Bodega worker: That will be two dollars.

Man: Two dollars?!

Pilot: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm just going to power off the plane for a minute and restart it. Kind of like control-alt-delete on your computer.

Girl #1: As Shakespeare once said: "Thou shall not kill."

Girl #2: No, that would be God.